FE&S' annual look at the top 100 foodservice equipment and supplies dealers by sales volume.

Sales among the top 100 foodservice equipment and supplies dealers increased by 7.63 percent to $5.44 billion in 2011, according to FE&S’ 2012 Distribution Giants Study. This represents a respectable increase compared to last year, which saw sales grow by 2.96 percent or $148.23 million among the top 100. Along those lines, 68 percent of the dealers reported an increase in sales, and only 22 percent reported a decrease in sales. The average sales per employee among the top 100 dealers was $483,148, down slightly from last year. The average revenue per sales person was $1.5 million for 2011.

While their top line gains strength, a number of dealers report continued pressure on the bottom line in the form of margin erosion. The word on the street is that competition among dealers remains as fierce as ever despite slowly improving business conditions. And it is not exactly clear when this will begin to ease.The term “asset purchase” became a popular one in the dealer community as several of the top 100 companies were acquired by their peers, which also made room for a number of new companies to enter this year’s study.

The following pages contain lots of data about the industry’s top 100 dealers, including 88 companies that chose to participate and 13 for which we had to provide estimates. (Because of a tie, this year’s study contains 101 companies.) We hope that you find the information useful and if you have any suggestions about how to improve this study, do not hesitate to let us know.